[Event "TCEC Season 19 - Division P"] [Site "https://tcec-chess.com"] [Date "2020.09.18"] [Round "42.3"] [White "LCZero v0.26.2-rc1_J92-100"] [Black "Ethereal 12.43"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "3543"] [BlackElo "3470"] [Annotator "Watson / Sadler"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "C19"] [Opening "French Defense: Winawer Variation, Positional Variation"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/XJm1jj4y/vyQLTajv"] [Orientation "white"] 1. d4 e6 2. e4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Ne7 7. Nf3 Nbc6 (7... Bd7 { (intending ...Ba4) } 8. a4 Qa5) (7... Qa5 { are active alternatives, }) (7... h6 { has been played with success over the past few years. }) 8. Be2 Qc7 { A rare and somewhat passive move. } (8... Qa5 { is most frequently played. }) 9. O-O O-O!? { Black commits to the kingside, which can be dangerous. } (9... Bd7 { retains more options. }) 10. Rb1! { Unknown, but very effective. } (10. a4 { and }) (10. Re1 { have been the most common moves here, both favorable for White. }) 10... h6 { [#] It's difficult for Black to challenge White's center. Sadler creates two engine examples to show this: } (10... cxd4 11. cxd4 f6 12. exf6 Rxf6 13. Bg5 Rf7 14. Re1 Bd7 15. Bh4 Nf5 16. Bg3 Nxg3 17. hxg3 Rf6 18. Bd3 Raf8 19. c3 (19. Rb2 h6 20. c3 Be8 21. Nh2 $18 Kh8 22. Rbe2 $18 Bh5 23. g4 Bf7 24. g5 hxg5 25. Ng4 Bh5 26. Nxf6 Bxe2 27. Qxe2 gxf6 28. Qxe6 $18) 19... b6 20. Rb2 Na5 21. Rbe2 Qxc3 22. Ne5 Qc7 23. Ng4 R6f7 24. Qb1 $18 { Stockfish NNUE - Kommodo Classical 2020 }) (10... f6 11. exf6 Rxf6 12. dxc5! e5 13. c4 d4 14. Bd3 Bf5 15. Ng5 Raf8 16. Ne4 $18 { Stockfish NNUE-Stockfish Classical 2020. }) 11. g4! { A wonderful move. I've been a fan of g4 and h4 for decades, but it goes against all my instincts to play g4 right after the slow Be2 and 0-0 (the latter move preventing White's rook from supporting the attack from h1 or g1). Surely when Black plays ...f6, the White's weaknesses on the f-file will interfere with his attacking chances? } 11... Bd7 (11... f6 12. exf6 Rxf6 13. g5 hxg5 14. Bxg5 { is terrifically strong for White. Stockfish NNUE defended the Black position successfully with } 14... Rg6 15. Bd3 Nf5 { , but when it got the chance to be White, the sequence } 16. Kh1 cxd4 17. Bxf5 exf5 18. cxd4 { turned out to be winning: } 18... Qf7 19. Rg1 b6 20. Qd3 f4 21. Nh4 Re6 22. Rg2 Bd7 23. Rbg1 $18 { Stockfish NNUE - Leela Zero, 2020. }) 12. Kh1! a6 13. Bd3 Na7 14. Nh4 c4!? (14... Bb5! { gets rid of one attacker, but } 15. f4 Bxd3 16. cxd3 cxd4 17. cxd4 { is extremely awkward: } 17... Ng6 18. Ng2! f5 19. a4 Nc6 20. Ba3 fxg4 21. Qxg4 Qf7 22. Ne3 Nxd4 23. Bxf8 Rxf8 24. Rb6 $18 { Stockfish NNUE-Stockfish Classical 2020. }) 15. Be2 g5 { [#] Sadler arranges two other games here with } (15... Ng6 { and }) (15... Ba4 { , both ending in disaster for Black. }) 16. Qe1! Ba4 (16... gxh4? 17. Bxh6 { followed by f4 and Qxh4 ends the game right away. }) 17. f4! Bxc2 18. Rb2 Be4+ 19. Bf3 Bd3 20. fxg5! Bxf1 21. Qxf1 Ng6 22. Qh3 (22. Nf5! exf5 23. gxf5 { also wins. }) 22... Nc6 23. gxh6 Qd8 24. g5 Nce7 25. Nxg6 fxg6 (25... Nxg6 26. Qg4 { followed by h4-h5 wins easily. }) 26. Qxe6+ Kh8 27. Bg4 b5 28. Kg2 Qc8 29. Qxc8 Nxc8 30. Kg3 Rf1 31. Bf4 Kh7 32. e6 { The bishops and passed pawn decide. } 32... Ra7 33. h4 Ne7 34. Bd6 Rg1+ 35. Kf4 Rf1+ 36. Ke5 Nf5 37. Bc5 Ra8 38. Bxf5 gxf5 39. e7 Rf3 40. Kf6 Re3 { 1-0 White wins. } 1-0